Leaders and Strategies in Real Life: 12/4/18

Instead of studying leadership, why not spend some time studying leaders and strategies in the wild? You can learn a lot from leadership experts, but you always see the leader and what he or she does through the expert’s personal lens. Supplement that learning with studying real leaders in real life situations and draw your own conclusions. The posts in this series will help you.

Every week I’ll point you to articles by and about real leaders in real situations and to articles about how real companies are faring in the marketplace. Read them. Think about them. Draw your own lessons and conclusions from them. Then try to apply those lessons in your own real life.

“Some of the most iconic moments in music have been played on a Gibson guitar. But lately, the company has fallen on some tough times. Gibson filed for bankruptcy in May and is expected to relaunch in November. Its new leadership team, headed by new president and CEO James ‘JC’ Curleigh, who previously served as president of the Levi’s brand at Levi Strauss & Co., took over on November.”

“Was it the breakneck growth alone that landed Mattress Firm Inc. in bankruptcy court? Or, as the company claims in a lawsuit filed last year, did a pair of greedy executives — taking advantage of the strategy to skim money off its real estate deals and enrich an outside accomplice — help it get there? The answer may hold lessons for America’s biggest mattress seller now that it has emerged from bankruptcy court after a fast-track restructuring.”

“Fluid Imaging isn’t your typical manufacturing company and Maine isn’t your typical manufacturing hub. Perhaps, that’s why the two go hand in hand—the Pine Tree State has been the perfect place for the particle analysis instrument manufacturer to grow as a company, says CEO Kent Peterson.”